One woofer.

Four screws.

Five toys.

One deliciously chubby boy.

—

“Uh… I saw a hole and filled it,” the Scooters monster said, “Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?”

“Why, yes,” I replied with a smile, “Yes, it is. And now, if you’ll please excuse me, I need to go hide the guitars.”

Heeeeeeeyyyyy, everyone!!  It’s time to announce some winners of Andrea’s fabulous custom lettering!

Mommy’s sorry it took her so long to announce the winners…  We’ve actually been in Utah until a few days ago and things have been really crazy since we got home.

But things have settled down a wee bit, so it’s time to announce some winners!

Wait!  Before I do!  I have to tell you of my sufferings.  Not only am I trying to make up lost sleep from our trip, but I’m also cutting multiple teeth and I have a wet, soggy cold.  Can you believe it!?

But!  It’s nothing that a good raspberry won’t help.

**Ppfffffttttt!!!!**

Okay, now where was I?

Oh yes!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered my Mommy’s contest!  And thank you to Andrea for offering her wonderful talents to us all!

Mommy wishes everyone could win (including herself!!), but, alas, she could only generate two lucky winners from Random.org and they were…

Courtney and Amanda!!

Congratulations, you two!  Mommy will get you in contact with Andrea to coordinate your orders.

Thanks again everyone!!!  This is so fun!

Now, wait just a minute.  If Courtney and Amanda are the winners, then that means…

… MY MOMMY DIDN’T WIN!!!!

*SNIFF!!*

What’s that?

Hey now!  I’ve never eaten one of these before.

Sweet!  Thanks, Mom!

—-

p.s.

You can order beautiful custom lettering by contacting Andrea at craftedwithloves@gmail.com.

• 6″ letter-$5
• 9″ letter-$9
• Single letter design-$6
• Single 8″ letter with name spelled-$18

Psst! Guess what?

I recently started doing this and Mommy loooooves it.

So naturally, she had to take a picture of it! :)

Then Bubbers wanted to join the fun!

And Mommy happily obliged him!

Ha, ha!!  I love it when Bubbers joins the fun!

Bubbers loves it, too, but sometimes he’s afraid of getting slimed…

… So he makes me laugh out of range of my spit-up.

Then Mommy’s heart melts as she watches her two sons.

And she wishes the soundtrack of her life could always be our giggles!

Hey Everyone! Guess what!?!

I turned nine months old which means time for another check-up at the doctor’s office!

(Oh, and Mommy forgot her camera, so she used her phone camera instead…)

And you know what?  The doctor says I’m headed for a growth spurt because my weight and height were lower percentiles than usual.  But I still have a big “coconut” that quickly grows out of my neck holes.  :)

Weight: 21.7 pounds (70th %ile)
Height: 28 inches (42nd %ile)
Head Circumference: 18.5 inches (91st %ile)

Poor Bubbers. He had a much harder time than I did at my check-up.

During the car ride to the doctor’s office, he casually said, “Scooters doesn’t want any shots.”

While walking into the doctor’s office, he said with a little more firmness, “Scooters doesn’t need any shots.”

When the nurse came in with the needles, Bubbers’ began crying, “No!  No!  Scooters doesn’t want any shots!  He doesn’t need them!!”

Then, in a last ditch effort to escape it all, he said desperately, “I need to go pee-pees!!!”

Poor Mommy.  She was really wishing Daddy was there to help comfort Bubbers, but she had forgotten to tell him about my appointment in time for him to take it off work and join us like he usually does…  So she was flying solo.

And all she could think of was: “It’s okay, just close your eyes and cover your ears!”

Bubbers obeyed with tears in his eyes and dread for my impending wails.

“Okay, we’re done!” the nurse suddenly announced.

“What?” Mommy stared, finally taking her eyes off her emotionally distraught 2-year-old and looking down at the 9-month-old in her arms.  There was a band-aid on each of my legs.  “You’re done?” Mommy asked blankly, “But he didn’t even cry.”

“Nope!” the nurse smiled and gathered her things.

“Wow…  Can we have you every time?!?” Mommy asked with shock.

The nurse laughed as she excused herself and Mommy still couldn’t believe it.

Then she and Bubbers laughed about it as she finished dressing me and we packed up.

Mommy was so grateful that everything turned out so well…

… And that we were all okay!

Hello!!  How are you guys?  I hope well!!  I’m here tonight to give you an update.  It’s been a while since Mommy started our lessons, so she asked me if I would tell y’all how we’re doing and I said, “Of course!”

First of all, I still love my language lessons!  I listen attentively as Mommy labels the pictures.  And then I enthusiastically label them back.

“da-DAH!!!!!”

And truth be told, I rarely get distracted.

Whatzat?

Is it edible?

Whoops.   I’m back! :)

Now let’s see… What else was I going to tell you?…..

Oh yes! My brother is doing really well with his lessons, too! Things were getting a little dicey at one point when his reading lessons started getting harder and Bubbers began losing motivation to work. So Mommy took it up a notch and made a visual schedule to go with the lessons and introduced the opportunity to earn rewards. After that, Bubbers was willing to apply himself again and really took off.

Now, every week night after I go to bed, they have my brother’s lessons…

First, Bubbers hauls in his rewards: Jelly Bellies.

Then he and Mommy settle down in the living room for a short reading lesson.

And boy is he doing well!

He’s got decoding down pat and his blending gets better every day.  Way to go, Bubbers!!

After that, he heads into the family room to have a lesson with Daddy.  He gets to choose between a Spanish lesson or a math lesson.

This time he chose to have a Spanish lesson and Daddy taught him how to name his special friends in Spanish. :)

If Daddy’s at school, then Bubbers gets a writing lesson with Mommy.

He really loves “writing” the letters he learns in his reading lessons.

And if he’s really feeling snazzy…..

…..  He sets aside the model and makes the letters from memory!

After lessons, he lays on the floor to chat with Mommy and Daddy and eat the Jelly Bellies he’s earned.  It’s a very special time for them all.

Hey, wait a second…..  Did I just say that Bubbers gets to eat Jelly Bellies while I’m sawin’ logs at night?

Hmmm, you know what?  I should probably be a little peeved about that.

That’s right!  I think I AM a little peeved about that!!

Ha!  That was fun, I’ll have to try it again someday.

Well, folks…  I think that’s it for now!

Good night!! :)

Look everyone!!  I’m sitting in my very first grocery cart ever!!!

For a few weeks now, Mommy’s been planning on trying this out and last Friday was THE DAY.  She was so excited!  She told Bubbers all about how I was going to sit next to him and how much fun it would be!

And boy was it!!!  Mommy smiled and giggled the entire time.  And then when she just couldn’t stand it any longer, she’d reach out and squeeze us both in a big group hug!

And then Bubbers got into the spirit of things, too!

We have so much fun together.

“Fun?  What fun?  We’re not having any fun–promise!”

Psyche!!!!

Raspberries all around!!!

Mommy really couldn’t get enough of looking at her cart full of little men and groceries for little men.

Then it was time for hoods again and loading up in the car.

“Here you go, Scooters,” said Bubbers.

“Aack!  What is that?!?” cried Scooters.

“Oh.  It’s food.  Why didn’t you say so, big bro?”

**Compulsively distracted**

“Here, I’ll help you out, little bro.”

**Touchdown!!**

Thanks, Bubbers!  That was the perfect ending to my first ride in a grocery cart.

Hello my friends!

Holy smokes, it’s been so quiet around here this week, I just had to break the silence.

*Ahh–bffff*

Bless me.

Now let’s see…

What was I saying?…

Oh yes! Mommy’s sorry it’s been so quiet. She’s been feeling the crunch of time and spent the week getting her journals up to date before the new year starts.

She got behind after I was born and finally figured out a system for (hopefully!) staying on top of them.

So this week, she buckled down and got them all updated.  (Phew!  Now it’s okay for another Private Investigator to call her up).

But she’s been thinking about you guys.  And she hopes you’re all doing well and having a great December. 

And she loves my rotund cheeks. 

And how I suck on my bottom lip.

And how I grab my feet. And roll over.

And mouth everything within reach.

And, well, she really loves…

….. me.

Mom?…..  Is this thing on?

[It sure is!  Go ahead whenever you're ready, Snuggles.]

Mwerfruff-mumwraw-fruff!

Ha!   Let me try that again…..  Hi Everyone!!!

It’s Sir Snuggles here, excited to report on my first Thanksgiving ever.

Oh!  And it was also the first full-fledged turkey-and-all-the-fixin’s Thanksgiving my parents have ever prepared by themselves since they’ve had children.  And it was so fun!!

Mommy had no idea how fun cooking could be when you do it with someone you love (especially when you’re both working together for the higher purpose of Thanksgiving).

Not to mention the joy of another someone else wanting to be part of it, too.

With his adorably cute concentration and determination.

“Wook, Mommy!  We’re feeding him!  Daddy, may I feed him?  Pweeeeease?”

“Wook, Mommy!!  I’m feeding him!…..  He’s gwad he’s dead.”

“Mommy?”

“May I have some more snowfwakes, pwease?”

“Ooooh, wook at awwwwww those snowfwakes!!”

“Wook! I disappeared!  Now nobody knows who stow awwwww those snowfwakes!”

Mommy also loved using books from the library to teach us about why we have Thanksgiving.

And when Daddy read this one, it made Mommy cry right in the middle of my diaper change!

This Thanksgiving was also our first exposure to….. bones.

Awww, the wish bone! (Daddy and Bubbers did it a few days later and it brought back so many childhood memories for Mommy. *sigh* How fun!)

There was also much drumming with…. the drumsticks.

Not to mention the inevitable:

“Choo-choooooo!!”

Uh….. No comment.

*Yawwwwwwwn*

After that, I went to sleep for one of my many beloved naps.  But!  I woke up just in time…..

….. To watch everyone eat it!

*sigh* It was perfect.   Just perfect.  Being together all day long and filling the house with wonderful smells.  Then sharing it as a family as we filled our hearts with gratitude for our bounteous blessings.

Daddy was grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and our family.  Mommy was thankful for the Gospel and Jesus Christ who made it possible for our cherished family to be together forever.  Bubbers was grateful for Daddy (and then me and Mommy).  And I was so thankful to be here–a treasured part of my family!

And then.

Daddy chased me!

*sigh* What a wonderful day!

I hope yours was wonderful, too!!!

Love,

Sir Snuggles

–

p.s.

Look!  You can see my new teeth!!!!

Hi, Everyone! You know what??

I love my brother!

He is so kind, loving and thoughtful toward me.

If I ever get upset, he’ll run to me and say in a sweet soothing voice (just like Mommy), “It’s okay, it’s okay….. I’m here, I’m here…..” and gently pats my hand or my belly.  It immediately calms me down and I usually start smiling!

And sometimes he’ll do it just to be kind–even when I’m not upset at all!

Like the time Mommy put us in the car to get us out of the rain and then went to load all our Costco purchases.

When she looked inside the car again, she witnessed this touching scene:

“It’s all right, Snuggles….. It’s all right.”

And when we’re at home, my brother shows me he loves me in so many ways.

Like when he lays next to me with my toys.

Or brings over his blanket and reads books to me in my bouncer.

Or just lays down on the floor to be near me.  (See my smile??  I love it!)

He also loves to give me my language lesson.

Or lay next to me as we admire my hands.

And one time, he saw me laying on the floor and went and got our family pictures to show me.

“Wook!” he said to me sweetly.

“Dis is you, Snuggles!”

“Dis is you!”

Another time, he saw me laying on the ground and so he laid down next to me saying…..

“I’we read you a book, Snuggles, I’w read you a book!”

And I listened and watched the whole time!

And some of my favorite times are when he just lays next to me, covers us with his blanket and talks to me.

We tell each other secrets.

And laugh together.

And then all of a sudden…..

He reaches out…..

And holds my hand!

And to think…..

When Mommy and Daddy first brought me home from the hospital,

They wondered how Bubbers would react.

They wondered if he would be okay with having a brother.

If he would really love and welcome me.

And right from the beginning…..

….. He did.

The very first week I was home, they realized just what kind of brother Bubbers would be, when I got hungry and fussy and wanted Mommy to hurry up with her shower already.

Nobody noticed that my brother had silently disappeared, until he quietly reappeared and gave me this:

My favorite binky.

All by himself, my brother had run down the hall to my room.  Searched the top of my dresser for my favorite binky (where he knew it would be).  Then run back down the hall to me.

Mommy and Daddy had smiled with amazement and joy.  And I knew how much God had blessed me to give me such a brother.

Yes, it is true.

I love my brother!!

Uh, Mom?  I don’t know if I can handle this three-months-old stuff.

On the day I turned three months old, I showed you how much I loved my jumper.  So then the next day, out of nowhere you put me in here.

And for crying out loud, I don’t even know what “here” is!!

[It's a walker, Son].

A what?

Wait a minute!  Hold that thought!

My labial sensors have picked up something on their radar.

Ooooh, my lingual sensors have picked up the same thing!

This warrants a full investigation.

*Chomp!*

Whoah!  That was strange.

Snuggles!!!!!!!  You’re in da walker, Snuggles!!!  You’re in da walker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey there, Bubbers!  I sure am!

You’re such a good wittow baby, Suggles!!

Wook!  I’m rubbin’ your head, Snuggles!  I’m rubbin’ your head!

You wike da rubbin’, huh?  Yes, you wike da rubbin’.

You know what, Snuggles?

….. What, Bubbers?

We’ll always be best friends. Thank you for being part of our faminy!